$Id$ Based on  XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/sgml/ati.sgml,v  3.42 2003/01/20 03:43:07 dawes Exp ATI Adapters README file  Marc Aurele La France  2002 February 12  This is the README for the XAA ATI driver included in this release.  ______________________________________________________________________  Table of Contents  1. Statement of intent  2. A note on acceleration  3. Current implementation for ATI adapters  4. Current implementation of generic VGA support for non-ATI adapters  5. xorg.conf specifications     5.1 Driver ``ati''     5.2 ChipSet ``name''     5.3 ChipID & ChipRev specifications     5.4 IOBase     5.5 BusID     5.6 Clocks        5.6.1 Clocks for supported programmable clock generators        5.6.2 Clocks for unsupported programmable clock generators        5.6.3 Clocks for fixed clock generators on ATI adapters        5.6.4 Clocks for non-ATI adapters     5.7 Option ``nopanel_display''     5.8 Option ``crt_display''     5.9 Option ``noaccel''     5.10 Option ``nolinear''     5.11 Option ``HWCursor'' and Option ``SWCursor''     5.12 Option ``SilkenMouse''     5.13 Option ``shadowfb''     5.14 Option ``dpms''     5.15 Option ``backingstore''     5.16 MemBase address     5.17 Option ``ReferenceClock'' ``frequency''     5.18 ClockChip ``name''  6. Video modes  7. Known problems and limitations  8. Reporting problems  9. Driver history  10. Driver versions  ______________________________________________________________________  1.  Statement of intent  Generally speaking, the driver is intended for all ATI video adapters,  providing maximum video function within hardware limitations.  The  driver is also intended to optionally provide the same level of  support for generic VGA or 8514/A adapters.  This driver is still  being actively developed, meaning that it currently does not yet fully  meet these goals.  The driver will provide  +o  accelerated support if an ATI accelerator is detected and the user     has not requested that this support be disabled;  otherwise  +o  accelerated support if a non-ATI 8514/A-capable adapter is detected     and the user has requested such support;  otherwise  +o  unaccelerated SuperVGA support if an ATI VGA-capable adapter is     detected; otherwise  +o  generic VGA support if a non-ATI VGA-capable adapter is detected     and the user has requested such support.     Thus, the level of support provided not only depends on what the     driver detects in the system, but also, on what the user specifies     in the xorg.conf file.  See the ``xorg.conf specifications''     section below for details.  If none of the above conditions are met, the ATI driver will  essentially disable itself to allow other drivers to examine the  system.  Note that I am currently considering removing the driver's support for  generic VGA.  If you have any concerns about this, please contact me  at <tsi@xfree86.org>.  2.  A note on acceleration  The meaning of ``acceleration'', as used in this document, needs to be  clarified.  Two of the many components in an accelerator are the CRT  controller (CRTC) and the Draw Engine.  This is in addition to another  CRTC that, generally, is also present in the system (often in the same  chip) and typically provides EGA, VGA or SuperVGA functionality.  A CRTC is the component of a graphics controller that is responsible  for reading video memory for output to the screen.  A Draw Engine is  an accelerator component that can be programmed to manipulate video  memory contents, thus freeing the CPU for other tasks.  When the VGA CRTC is used, all drawing operations into video memory  are the responsibility of the system's CPU, i.e. no Draw Engine can be  used.  On the other hand, if the accelerator's CRTC is chosen to drive  the screen, the Draw Engine can also be used for drawing operations,  although the CPU can still be used for this purpose if it can access  the accelerator's video memory.  Video acceleration refers to the programming of an accelerator's Draw  Engine to offload drawing operations from the CPU, and thus also  implies the use of the accelerator's CRTC.  3.  Current implementation for ATI adapters  The driver currently supports the SuperVGA capabilities of all ATI  adapters except some early Mach8 and Mach32 adapters that do not  provide the required functionality.  This support works for  monochrome, 16-colour and 256-colour video modes, if one of the  following ATI graphics controller chips is present:  VGAWonder series:  18800, 18800-1, 28800-2, 28800-4, 28800-5, 28800-6     Mach32 series:  68800-3, 68800-6, 68800AX, 68800LX     Mach64 series:  88800GX-C, 88800GX-D, 88800GX-E, 88800GX-F, 88800CX,                     264CT, 264ET, 264VT, 264GT (3D Rage), 264VT-B, 264VT3,                     264VT4, 264GT-B (3D Rage II), 3D Rage IIc, 3D Rage Pro,                     3D Rage LT, 3D Rage LT Pro, 3D Rage XL, 3D Rage XC,                     3D Rage Mobility (including the -M and -P variants)  The driver also supports 32K, 64K and 16M-colour modes on the 264xT  and 3D Rage series of adapters using the accelerator CRTC (but not the  VGA CRTC).  The newer Rage 128 and Radeon chips are not yet supported by this  driver.  Rage 128's and Radeon's are, however, supported by separate  drivers, and owners of such adapters should consult the documentation  provided with these drivers.  This driver will also invoke the  appropriate driver if it finds Rage 128 and/or Radeon adapter(s) in  the system.  Adapters based on the above chips have been marketed under a rather  large number of names over the years.  Among them are:  VGAWonder series:  VGAWonder V3, VGAWonder V4, VGAWonder V5, VGAWonder+,                     VGAWonder XL, VGAWonder XL24, VGAWonder VLB, VGA Basic,                     VGA Basic 16, VGA Edge, VGA Edge 16, VGA Integra,                     VGA Charger, VGAStereo F/X, VGA 640, VGA 800, VGA 1024,                     VGA 1024D, VGA 1024 XL, VGA 1024 DXL, VGA 1024 VLB      Mach8 series:  Graphics Ultra, Graphics Vantage, VGAWonder GT                     (None of the 8514/Ultra and 8514 Vantage series is                      supported at this time)     Mach32 series:  Graphics Ultra+, Graphics Ultra Pro, Graphics Wonder,                     Graphics Ultra XLR, Graphics Ultra AXO, VLB mach32-D,                     PCI mach32-D, ISA mach32     Mach64 series:  Graphics Xpression, Graphics Pro Turbo, WinBoost,                     WinTurbo, Graphics Pro Turbo 1600, Video Xpression,                     3D Xpression, Video Xpression+, 3D Xpression+,                     3D Charger, Video Charger, WinCharger, All-In-Wonder,                     All-In-Wonder PRO, 3D Pro Turbo, XPERT@Play,                     XPERT@Play 98, XPERT@Work, XPERT 98, XPERT LCD,                     XPERT XL  Also, a number of mainboards, laptops and notebooks harbour a Mach32  or Mach64 controller.  VGAWonder, Mach8 and Mach32 ISA adapters are available with or without  a mouse.  These adapters are available with a variety of clock generators and  RAMDACs.  The 264xT and 3D Rage series of chips are integrated  controllers, meaning that they include a programmable clock generator  and a RAMDAC.  For all but Mach64 adapters, this driver still does not provide  support for accelerated drawing to the screen.  This means that all  drawing is done by the CPU, rather than by any accelerator present in  the system.  This can make opaque moves, for example, quite ``jerky''.  Also, given that IBM 8514/A and ATI Mach8 do not allow CPU access to  their frame buffer, the driver will currently ignore these  accelerators.  Most Mach32 adapters provide both accelerated function  and SuperVGA functionality, but the driver currently only uses the  VGA.  The driver does however support the accelerator CRTC present in all  ATI Mach64 adapters.  For 256-colour, and higher depth modes, this  support will be used by default, although an xorg.conf option can be  specified to use the SuperVGA CRTC instead.  A linear video memory  aperture is also available in 256-colour and higher depth modes and  enabled by default if a 264xT or 3D Rage controller is detected or, on  88800 controllers, if the accelerator CRTC is used.  xorg.conf options  are available to disable this aperture, or (for non-PCI adapters)  enable it or move it to some other address.  By default, the driver provides some acceleration for Mach64 if the  accelerator CRTC is used, and modes whose colour depth greater than or  equal to 8 are to be used.  This support is as yet incomplete and can  be disabled entirely with an xorg.conf option.  On non-Intel platforms, the driver can, currently, only support PCI  Mach64 adapters.  4.  Current implementation of generic VGA support for non-ATI adapters  Support for generic VGA with non-ATI adapters is also implemented, but  has undergone only limited testing.  The driver will intentionally  disallow the use of this support with ATI adapters.  This support must  be explicitly requested through an xorg.conf ChipSet specification.  This prevents the current VGA generic driver from being disabled.  This driver's generic VGA support is intended as an extension of that  provided by the current generic driver.  Specifically, within the  architectural bounds defined by IBM's VGA standard, this driver will  allow the use of any 256-colour mode, and any dot clock frequencies  both of which allow for many more mode possibilities.  The driver will enforce the following limitations derived from IBM's  original VGA implementation:  +o  There can only be a set of four (non-programmable) clocks to choose     from.  +o  Video memory is limited to 256kB in monochrome and 16-colour modes.  +o  Video memory is limited to 64kB in 256-colour modes.  +o  Interlaced modes are not available.  +o  Colour depths higher than 8 are not available.  5.  xorg.conf specifications  The driver recognises a number of xorg.conf options.  In general, all  such options should be specified in a ``Device'' section, and affect  only that ``Device'' section.  Those options that affect how the driver associates adapters with  ``Device'' sections are described first.  The driver will ignore (with  a message) a ``Device'' section if the section cannot be associated  with exactly one adapter in the system.  Similarly, the driver will  ignore, or disable, (with a message) any adapter that cannot be  associated with exactly one ``Device'' section.  Thus, these options  will be required in those uncommon cases where such unique  associations cannot automatically be made by the driver.  Other options affect the driver's operation once an adapter has been  assigned to the ``Device'' section which contains them.  5.1.  Driver ``ati''  The use of this specification is highly recommended if the ``Device''  section is to be recognised by the driver.  In fact, it is almost (but  not quite) mandatory, particularly when using the loader server as it  indicates what driver is to be loaded and associated with the  ``Device'' section.  5.2.  ChipSet ``name''  The default ChipSet name for this driver is ``ati''.  In this case,  any ATI adapter can be associated with the ``Device'' section.  If an  ATI accelerator is detected and the driver supports it, the  accelerator's CRTC will be used to drive the screen.  Otherwise, the  driver will programme the adapter's SuperVGA CRTC.  If ``ativga'' is specified instead, the driver will ignore any ATI  accelerator it detects, but otherwise operate as if ``ati'' had been  specified.  This specification ensures the VGA CRTC is used.  A ChipSet name of ``ibmvga'' causes any VGA-capable adapter in the  system to be associated with the ``Device'' section.  It enables the  driver's generic VGA support, but only for non-ATI adapters.  If an  ATI adapter is associated with the ``Device'' section, the driver will  operate as if ``ativga'' had been specified instead.  A ChipSet name of ``vgawonder'' is equivalent to ``ativga'', except